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Korea and Jeju - Day 7

Breakfast buffet at Courtyard
Marriott is the 2nd best breakfast for the entire trip.

They have Korean, Chinese and Western
fare. They even have an egg station where you could order your own poached
eggs, scrambled eggs or omelette. Cheesy omelettes are my favourite!

The view of Times Square from our hotel room.

After we had our breakfast, we were
led to tourist traps...

Ginseng Monopoly Showroom

Photography is not allowed there. The
place is supposedly ran by the Korean government and perfectly legit. However,
the way the staff brainwashed and hard-pressed us to purchase their Ginseng
products made me feel overwhelmed. The prices are extremely steep. 3k for two
boxes of Ginseng capsules? WOAH. If the products are really as good as the
staff made it sound, then I suppose we wouldn't mind spending the money. We'll
see the results soon...

Next stop: Nature
Republic.

We went for a skincare course at
Nature Republic and once again, the staff tried selling us more products.
Buying cosmetic products are fine, for I suppose they're sold at a third or
half the price as compared to when you buy them in Singapore. It should be a
worthy deal. However, I've never really heard of the odbo products before, and
the staff are all promoting that particular brand.

I had already intended to purchase
some products for acne care but I didn't like the way the salesgirl kept
mentioning my acne scars. I swear they're tactless that way. The place was
quite generous with the promotions and gifts though, so we got the
buy-5-get-1-free deal and a luggage bag (for spending more than a stipulated
amount on cosmetic products). The salesgirl had very solemnly promised
that results would be seen in 3 months, so both my mom and I are counting down
to the days.

[UPDATE: Well, my acne did clear up
slightly but I don't think it was extremely obvious. It was definitely not what
they had promised. Note to self: Don't get swayed by the sales tactics of
these salespeople next time when I'm overseas!]

Lunch was bibimbap and shabushabu.
The bibimbap was nice, especially after you add their special chilli paste!

After lunch, we headed to Myeong
dong, another shopping district!

We were really full after lunch, so I
couldn't free up enough space for more Korean street food. However, I did try
out the tall soft-serve ice cream (from the stall manned by 3 hot Korean dudes.
HEH.)

Sadly, we didn't manage to get much
loot from Myeongdong. =(

In the evening, we went Lotte
World, the largest indoor theme park.

We had dinner at Iron bull, a pretty
cool Western buffet restaurant in the theme park. They had nachos, cheese, thin
crust pizzas, spaghetti, ddeokbokki, udon, curry, salad, brownies, mochi,
cheese muffins and etc. After our dinner, I immediately dragged my siblings to
conquer as many rides as possible!

As it was a weekday, there weren't
that many visitors. YAY! Queues were relatively short (5 minutes maximum) and
of course I was really happy to breeze through the rides.

The Adventure of Sindbad

The Adventure of Sindbad was slightly freaky and I totally didn't expect the short
plunges/drops. I thought it was like a mild ride similar to Universal Studios'
Madagascar ride but I was wrong. My phone almost flew out from my hand!

The Conquistador

The Conquistador was the typical Pirate Ship ride and left me slightly sick
(I went on the ride directly after dinner!). It swung up to 75 Degrees and my
sister totally regretted getting onto the ride.

Drunken Basket

The Drunken Basket was dizzying. I really couldn't walk in a straight line
after that ride.

3D Desperadoes II

3D Desperados II was like an arcade game where you shoot at villains while
riding a horse (and making sure you don't fall off it). My brother got the high
score and I was the second! My sister is completely hopeless at such games
though. haha.

Dragon's wild shooting

Dragon's Wild Shootingwas quite similar
to Everland's Mystery Mansion. Just shooting at random lil dragons that popped
up on screen when our ride drove past them... Once again, my sis managed to end
up as the worst player.

Pharaoh's Fury

Pharaoh's Fury was initially thought to be like Universal Studio's
Revenge of the Mummy. However, it was so mild and non-scary that I was sorely
disappointed. =( Why did Lotte World even state that old people/young kids
cannot take the ride? It was misleading to me.

Bumper Car was fun. BAM! I crashed into my siblings just for the sake
of seeing them getting tossed around in their seats. HAHA. Then, I got stuck in
a major collision where 3 strangers crushed me in the middle and I couldn't
even budge. I guess I'm a lousy driver, but HEY, I got my driving license upon
my first try. I can't be that bad, right?

The queue for French
Revolution,a high speed indoor roller coaster, was too long and I
decided to give it a miss. I couldn't find the entrance for Flume
Ride and I gave up on that too.

We went to Magic Island,
the outdoor area, straight after riding on most rides in the indoor area.

Gyro Spin was a mix between a Pirate Ship and a spinning disk. It
was dark when we went outdoors, so the night view of the river from the rides
was amazing. =) This particular ride was just right for me. Not too dizzying
and not too heart-lurching.

Swing tree - image from Google

Swing Treereminded me to a
smaller version of Genting Theme Park's ride. I was woozy when I stumbled down
from the seats. Who knew swinging around in circles could disorientate me so
much? I seriously looked like a drunkard when the entire ride ended.

We managed to catch the parade at
7pm. The themes for parades in theme parks in Korea seems to be
Rio/Brazil-related this year! I suppose it's because of the FIFA World Cup.

Look at their dazzling and glittering
and gaudy costumes!

We left Lotte World at 9pm to return
to Courtyard Marriott. That was the most satisfying theme park trip ever! YAY
to short queues and weekday benefits!